Prelude to War
by Cybat
Summary: This fic is, well, a prelude to the war of the Smashers against the Shadows. It includes a history lesson and an interdimensional adventure, and a new friend for the smashers. Now complete! The war is approaching...r&r!
1. Prologue

(A/N: Well, as promised, this fic will chronicle the war between the Shadows and the Smashers! Actually…no. This fic is actually more of a, well, prelude to the war. I figure I'll start off with an introduction, sort of a history lesson. Then, the smashers will go on an interdimensional adventure while not fighting a war. Don't worry, though, my 6th fic will be the actual war. I promise.)

Prelude to War

by Ryan Myers

Prologue: Shadowy Times (200 years ago)

Emperor Nathaniel Eclipse was the ruler of a booming empire. With a dimension all to itself, people flocked there by the millions. Soon, the dimension of Eclipsia, named for its endearing and enduring ruler, had become a well-known name among interdimensional travelers. Little did Eclipse know that his once-proud dimension would soon give way to evil and despair.

It all started one day in Eclipsia, as Nathaniel Eclipse rose to a bright, sunny day. His mood couldn't have been better. His affairs had been peaceful all week, and his few opponents had been relatively silent.

Suddenly, an official came rushing into the emperor's throne room, his face an utter expression of fear.

"Sire! There's…there's a problem."

Nathaniel sat up, alarmed. What sort of problem could get past his army and security?

"Oh?" he replied, trying to mask his anxiety.

"There's an…anomaly, sire. One of the newborn children is…well, he's different."

Nathan, an experienced public speaker, immediately noticed that his messenger seemed unnecessarily ill at ease. 

"What's wrong with him?" he asked, remaining calm.

"You'll have to see for yourself, sir."

For the first time, Eclipse became purely afraid, and he didn't know why.

"Come with you? Why can't you tell me?"

The messenger squirmed and contorted his face. "I can't tell you, sir, please come with me." 

Suddenly, Nathaniel noticed a strange feature of the messenger. Although the room was bathed in sunlight, the messenger did not have a shadow.

The emperor was about to point that out, but he decided not to. If the messenger were under some sort of…mind control…

"Sire." Came an urgent whisper behind Nathaniel's throne. "Come here, please. Ignore that messenger."

Eclipse recognized the voice as that of his chief advisor, David Blaze.

The emperor, not reacting to the voice, replied to his messenger, "I'll look into it. You are dismissed."

The messenger looked almost pained at the rejection, but he left. Eclipse turned around.

"What's going on, Blaze? That man had no shadow!"

"Yes. It's happening all around town. There was a child born…a mutant. I haven't seen him, but it seems that this child is completely jet black in color."

"Just a minute." Nathan said, looking over his advisor carefully.

Blaze smiled as Eclipse checked him out. "Yep, you have a shadow." The emperor verified. "Sorry. Continue."

"No problem. Anyway, this child seems to have the ability – whether controlled or not – to, well…suck the shadows out of anyone near him. This increases the child's strength, and the child is already strong enough to break through stone walls."

"Well, that's not a good sign. Shouldn't we try to stop him?"

"Well, that's just it. Whenever he does take someone's shadow, they seem to become subservient to him. Whether the child realizes it or not, his subconscious has control over a great deal of the capital city."

"Hmm. Any suggestions?"

"Well…we could hide."

Eclipse glared at his advisor's fear. "There's got to be a way. Is he really controlling everyone?"

"I'm sure he was controlling that messenger. That's why the messenger wanted you to follow him."

"He wanted to lead me to the child so the boy could take over my mind?"

"That's my guess."

"Makes sense. But what are we going to do about it?"

"Honestly, I don't know. If we do something, it'll have to be fast. The absorbed shadows are apparently increasing the child's growth. The child is already able to walk."

"And you know this because your scouts have told you this?" Eclipse asked, growing suspicious.

"Sire, you already checked me. I still have a shadow. My scouts are more prevalent than you may think."

"I know where your scouts are, Blaze!" Eclipse shouted, growing angry.

"Do you?" Blaze responded, his voice suddenly accented with a sinister inflection.

Before Nathaniel could respond, his throne room became filled with…well, with shadows. The emperor could only growl in anger before an ominous voice sounded behind him.

"Nathan, I knew fooling you would be easy, but I didn't think it would be this easy!" Eclipse turned around to see a large, black figure. Actually, it looked more like a…3-dimensional hole in the air in the shape of a person.

"Who are you?" the emperor asked, although he had a pretty good idea.

"I am the Anomaly." He replied. "It was a pretty good plan, wasn't it? I made you put your guard up, then made you let it down. It was especially clever the way I had one of your 'scouts' pose as Blaze's shadow. Yes…" here the shadow motioned expansively to his gathering army. "Blaze was right about some things. I have been taking over people's minds. And I do gain their strength when I do so. And they do cause me to grow faster. However, Blaze left out the somewhat important detail of how many people I have attacked, which, as you can see, is a very substantial amount. And, as you may have noticed, once I have attacked someone, their bodies, over time, lose their natural color and become a shadow of what they once were."

Eclipse glowered at the shadow, not knowing what to say.

"Oh, don't look at me that way, Nathan. You've been emperor of this dimension for hundreds of years…give someone else a turn."

Eclipse shook his head. "You're a lunatic. What are you trying to gain from taking over this dimension?"

"Well, I think that's very simple. After taking over everyone in the empire, we will wait and reproduce over a few generations, and then we shall begin our interdimensional conquest."

Eclipse was stunned into silence. "You mean to take over every single dimension? You realize that, eventually, there'll be someone strong enough to stop you."

"No, I don't think so. Who could stop us when we have control of them?"

"What if someone doesn't let you close to them?"

"Then I have my warriors, fool! No one can stop us. Enough. This conversation is over."

With that, Blaze abruptly reached up and grabbed the emperor. Helped by a few others, Eclipse was eventually pushed in front of the Anomaly. He reached out his hand ceremonially.

It is said that the screams echoed for days.

Interesting Facts about the Shadows:

Anomaly's plan didn't work out as well as he'd hoped. After about 100 years, the community split into five groups. Anomaly found that shadows grew harder and harder to control after long periods of time, and several shadows organized groups, suggesting their own campaign for dimensional domination.

The first group ended up in a dark dimension, and found a group of pirates. Discovering an innate ability to enter an individual's mind and corrupt it, the pirates became even more greedy and bloodthirsty. The shadow's influence passed on through the generations until the last group of pirates was thwarted by the efforts of a brave fighter named Master.

The second group followed a similar path to the first, except their targets were more evil to begin with. Eventually, these pirates met their doom in their campaign for Metroids, at the hands of Samus Aran.

The third group started in a distant dimension inhabited by barbaric purple polygonal mutants. Their efforts resulted in almost immediate defeat at the hands of the brutal exilees of the toy dimension, but enough of them had corrupted the polygons to ensure that a new, more maliciously resourceful generation would follow. By natural selection, the shadows' inheritable "evil" gene passed down, weakening each time, until their evil tendencies became only a spark, waiting to be reignited…

The fourth group didn't even last long enough to have an effect. They made the mistake of going right to the nearest dimension: the toy dimension. Having expelled an odd group of purple mutants a decade ago, the toy dimension was screened, and only the best fighters remained. The shadows didn't have a chance.

Finally, the fifth group remained in Eclipsia with Anomaly, building up their numbers according to Anomaly's master plan. Having learned of each other group's defeat, they knew that their method was the best, and that they would be successful.

(A/N: Well, that may have seemed weird to you, but if you read my 4th fic, it should make sense as to what I'm talking about. Even if you haven't, you may have noticed something you knew about in the interesting facts. If neither of these applies to you, go read my fics, or something. Anyway, if you still don't know what this fic has to do with SSB, just wait a few days for my next chapter.)


	2. Recruiting

Chapter 1: Recruiting Begins

Mario woke up slowly and reluctantly. Lying still in his bed, he waited for Toad and Peach to come in to wake him, or for a loud roar from Bowser, or even a challenge to a "friendly" game of tennis or golf from his friends.

He waited in vain, though. No one came. Mario waited a full half-hour before getting up by himself for the first time. He got up to look out the window. He didn't see anything interesting, just the same old Mushroom Kingdom-

Wait! That's a portal!

Mario suddenly became overwhelmed with memories that weren't his. Collapsing on the floor, he began to see visions of recent events that involved him-but didn't.

After a few seconds, Mario stood up. He understood everything. There had been another tournament, and now he was being recruited to join a war. He ran downstairs, waking up his brother on the way.

"Luigi! We'vea got worka to do!" Mario shouted. He had never been sure if Luigi knew about Mario's real voice, so he used his fake voice just in case.

Luigi woke up quickly and ran downstairs. Mario filled him in on the way, and they met the rest of the smashers outside.

"Mario! Congratulations!" Peach shouted.

"Um, wella, it wasn'ta really me…buta thanks."

Peach giggled. Bowser groaned.

"Come on, show-off! We've got a lot of recruiting to do!" Bowser growled.

Samus nodded. "We should get moving."

Mario shrugged, and the group jumped back into the portal. 

"Wherea to next?" Mario asked.

"Well, I guess we're going to Fox's dimension now." Link replied.

"Yep…I've got a friend in mind who can help us out." Fox put in.

They exited the portal inside the Great Fox. 

"Stay here." Fox warned. "I don't know if the security systems are on."

"Security systems?" Master Hand shouted.

"Don't worry…just don't move too much." Fox grinned, and disappeared down a hallway.

The smashers waited impatiently for a few minutes, then DK started shaking.

"DK! What are you doing?" Ness hissed.

"Got too…sneeze…" DK responded. Everyone sighed.

"Don't move, DK!" Falcon warned.

"I…can't…help…it…" came the forced reply.

Suddenly, a giant sneeze erupted from DK. A loud red alarm went off.

"Warning! Intruders! Warning!"

"Oh, great job there DK." Kirby sighed.

"Pika." Pikachu added, slapping his face with his hand.

"Sorry." DK mumbled.

Just then, Fox appeared with a blue bird. "Guys, this is Falco. What did you do?"

"DK sneezeda." Luigi replied.

Fox sighed. "Falco, I'll introduce you to everyone later. Come on, let's go."

"I guess we'll head right to the Pokemon dimension then." Master Hand suggested.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu voiced his approval (at least that's what everyone assumed).

So, the smashers entered the portal again, and ended up in front of the now-familiar boy with the red cap.

"Chu!"

"Hi, Pikachu." Ash answered. "How have you been?"

Ash had given up asking where Pikachu kept disappearing to, because Pikachu couldn't answer him anyway.

"Chu. Pika pika!" Pikachu shouted, presumably calling someone.

"Jiggly!" Came the reply.

"Oh, great. Here comes Jigglypuff." Samus whispered to Mario. Mario grinned.

"Pichu!" Another mouse came bounding out of the grass. This one looked somewhat like Pikachu, but smaller, and with blacker ears. Overall, it was a lot cuter.

"Awww! How cute!" Zelda almost shrieked. Peach chimed in.

"Um, Ash, right?" Link asked to the young boy. "What is that?"

"Oh, that's a Pichu." Ash answered, trying to sound smart. "It's the devolved version of Pikachu…in other words, it evolves into Pikachu."

"Why would we want a – devolved Pokemon helping us?" DK wondered.

"Why not?" Yoshi answered matter-of-factly.

Yoshi's English lessons were coming along, but they still had a long way to go. DK had long decided that the Pokemon were hopeless.

"Well…" Falcon started to say, then stopped. Pichu was just walking up to join the group, and Jigglypuff was having an animated discussion with Pikachu.

"Anyonea else you wanta to invitea, Pikachu?" Mario asked.

Pikachu stopped to think. Ash turned to Pikachu. "What about th-"

Ash stopped midsentence. In fact, everyone stopped. It seemed that time had frozen for everyone except the smashers.

"What the?" Samus voiced everyone's concern.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light above the smashers. A second later, a Pokemon hovered in its place. It was slightly humanoid, but pinkish, with an odd tail and somewhat globular hands and fingers.

"I am Mewtwo…the strongest Pokemon on the planet."

"Pika!"

"Well, OK. Not quite the strongest. But close enough!"

The smashers looked at each other suspiciously.

"Hey, I froze time, did I not?"

"How did you-" Falco began.

"I'm psychic, you fool. That is what makes me powerful." Mewtwo replied arrogantly. "And I notice that you are in need of powerful allies, especially after recruiting such weaklings."

DK couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. Pichu shocked him angrily, then fainted.

"Huh?" Mario stared.

"Didn't you know? Pichu can't control his electricity, and hurts himself when he uses it."

"WHAT? What good is that?" Bowser roared. "That's pitiful!"

"It doesn't matter. With my power, this weakling's ineffectiveness will be negated."

Mario shrugged to Master Hand, suggesting, _Who knows, maybe this thing is right! Anyway, we could use more fighters_. Master Hand agreed, and Jigglypuff, Pichu, and Mewtwo accompanied the smashers into the portal.

"We're going to Hyrule next, aren't we?" Mewtwo asked, showing off his mind-reading powers.

"Good job Mewtwo." Master Hand replied sarcastically.

As they arrived, Link mused, "Hmm…I can't really think of anyone to recruit, actually."

Master Hand sighs. "Well, let's just leave then."

"Oh no you don't!" a voice came from the distance. Link and Zelda recognized it immediately.

"Ganondorf!" they shouted in unison.

"You bet! And I'd like to know where you think you're going without me!"

Before they could object, Mario interrupted. "Hey, if hea wants toa come along, he'sa more thana welcome."

Link grinned. "Good point. OK, Ganondorf, we're going to fight a war against a bunch of evil shadows. If you want to join us, go right ahead."

Ganondorf paused. That obviously wasn't the answer he was expecting. "Really?" he asked. It must be some sort of trick, but he wasn't going to be scared away. "I would love to help you with your, um, war."

Master Hand whispered to Samus, "He thinks we're kidding!" Samus laughed.

"OK, Ganondork, last chance. You want to come along or not?"

"Don't call me that! Of course I'll come along! I can take on these shadows!"

The entire group burst into laughter at this. Ganondorf growled. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing." Zelda replied. "Come into the portal with us, and we'll be on our way to the shadow dimension."

"OK then. I'm ready." Ganondorf replied naïvely.

Trying to contain their laughter, the smashers went into the portal that led to Eclipsia.

(A/N: OK, so I was kinda mean to Ganondorf in this chapter. That's OK, though, no one likes him anyway. Also, Mewtwo's opinions about Pichu are his own, not mine. Don't flame me about them.)


	3. Round 1

Chapter 2: Round 1

"Wait…we're really going to fight?" is the first thing the smashers hear as they leave Hyrule.

"Yes, Ganondorf, we are. Thank you for volunteering." Link grinned.

Ganondorf was struck silent, then paused. "What sort of war are we fighting, then?"

"We're fighting against these shadows that can take over people's minds, and they're apparently plotting to take over the world." Master Hand explained.

"Oh…I just recognized you, Master Hand. And Bowser! This brings back old memories, doesn't it?" Ganondorf smirked.

"Don't remind me." Bowser groaned. "That harebrained scheme brought humiliation on all of us." (A/N: See my second fic, now down at #200 or something)

"Enough!" Master Hand interrupted. "Stop arguing."

"It was your idea, Master Hand." Ganondorf pointed out.

"Ssssh!" whispered Samus. "We're here."

"Wh-" Ganondorf started to say, but was immediately silenced in awe.

The entire landscape was gray, with occasional streaks of black. The smashers' eyes had to focus before they could see anything. After that, they could faintly make out what appeared to be silhouettes. Suddenly, the ground started to quake, and a low rumbling could be heard.

"Whoa! You hear that?" Falco queried.

"No, bird-brain, of course not." Mewtwo replied arrogantly. "Your ears are so much better than ours, after all."

Everyone glared at Mewtwo. "This isa a team, Mewtwo. Youa have to acta like it. Everyone elsea is…more ora less…" Mario reprimanded, and then trailed off as the quaking stopped and the rumbling began to sound more and more like – laughter.

"You fools!" a deep, sinister voice thundered through laughter. "You dare disturb the shadows in their own realm?"

"We'rea not afraid ofa you!" Mario replied bravely.

"Well, maybe you aren't, Mario…but I bet ol' Master Hand is! He's already seen our power. He knows what we can do!"

Master Hand shouted back, "You surprised me before. Now, I'm ready for you."

"We'll see about that." The voice replied calmly.

With that, the entire area grew brighter, and the smashers could now clearly make out a large army of shadow warriors, and one huge person-shaped black object far away.

"That's him! The leader!" Master Hand stated.

"Yes, I am the 'leader', as you say. You can call me Anomaly, but my subjects call me Emperor Eclipse."

"Eclipse? You mean like Nathaniel Eclipse?" Master Hand gasped.

"Huh?" the rest of the smashers wondered in unison.

Master Hand quickly proceeded to explain the reference, until Anomaly interrupted. "Enough of this foolishness! Shadows, ATTACK!"

The smashers prepared for battle as the shadows charged forward.

"This is it! The first battle of the war!" Master Hand rallied

"Oh? You wish to fight a war, do you? Well, that's different!" Anomaly shouted gleefully. "I'll have to make this more interesting then!"

The shadow leader's arms shot up, followed by two massive pillars of whatever the ground was made of. The shadows stopped their advance.

"Yikes!" Falcon shouted.

Mewtwo rolled his eyes, and fired a dark ball of energy at a pillar. Anomaly laughed, and the pillar bent to one side. The projectile passed harmlessly by.

"What?" Mewtwo gasped, flabbergasted.

The smashers could barely avoid laughing, but soon Anomaly reminded them it was no laughing matter.

"You didn't seem to realize that I have complete control over this dimension! Now you will pay the price!"

With that, Anomaly's arms came down, and so did the pillars. They reshaped into a rapidly closing bubble, right around the smashers, threatening to squash them like bugs.

"PICHU!" the baby Pokemon, apparently trying to prove its worth, unleashed its full power onto the walls. Unfortunately, the walls stood firm and still collapsing, and Pichu promptly fainted. The smashers sighed collectively.

"Master Hand, I think it's time to leave." Kirby suggested.

"That's another plan you've ruined…" Ganondorf muttered, not quietly enough.

Master Hand pretended not to hear. "Could someone get Pichu, please? We're…we're leaving."

The smashers could sense Master Hand's unmistakable shame and humiliation, but no one said anything until Samus replied, "Sure, I'll grab him."

She extended her grappling beam and pulled Pichu toward her, as the walls fell ever closer. Master Hand sighed almost inconspicuously, and the group disappeared in a blue flash of light.

The walls collapsed, shattering. Anomaly's laughter permeated the entire dimension, and echoed through the portal, as did his taunt:

"If they want a _war, _they'll get one."

The smashers emerged onto Master Hand's platform.

"Well, that went well." Zelda sighed dejectedly.

"This war is going to be tough." DK added.

"Obviously, we're going to have to wait for the shadows to make the first move," Master Hand commented. "We can't fight them on their home turf."

Everyone nodded grimly in agreement.

"We're going to have to get some outside help." Peach suggested.

"I can't imagine who, though." Fox replied.

"Well…I guess while we're waiting for the shadows to attack, we could go after Crazy Hand and Giga Bowser." Kirby pointed out.

"Huh?" Falco asked, blankly.

"Two villains…apparently they met the original group before." Mewtwo replied.

"Pikapi! Chu, kachu!" Pikachu clarified for Jigglypuff and Pichu.

Suddenly, Link and Samus gasped. Link whispered, "Incoming!"

Sure enough, a portal was forming behind the smashers. Everyone turned to face the portal, and got into battle poses. 

Could the shadows be attacking them? Was it Crazy Hand? Or something else?

(A/N: Ooh, how dramatic. Anyway, Marth and Roy may not make it into this fic…but they'll certainly play a large role in my next one, since it will be a war and all.)


	4. New Fighters

Chapter 3: New Fighters

The smashers wait anxiously for the portal to close, so they can identify the visitor. When it finally does, they are shocked.

A young man, about Falcon's size, stood in front of them, wearing a green and black full-body suit, draped in a dramatically long and flowing black cape, and carrying a large staff. 

"Greetings, friends."

"Friends?" Mario questioned suspiciously.

"Yes! Don't you recognize me?"

"Not really, no." Master Hand replied.

"How about you, Ness?"

Everyone turned to stare at Ness. Ness closed his eyes in concentration, then gasped. "You were the one that helped us home from the toy dimension!"

"Right. You guys did a good job there." (A/N: Another shameless plug! This was my 3rd fic, which is down at #150 or so by now)

"Well, who are you?" Bowser growled.

"Patience, patience. First let me tell you that Juvenor is – was – my best friend."

Luckily, the veterans had already explained the story to the new smashers, so upon hearing this, the entire group was stunned into silence for several seconds.

Finally, Mario managed, "I-I'ma…sorry…"

"Don't worry about it. I've…gotten over it." The figure paused a moment solemnly, then continued. "I have good news though. I'm here to help you."

"We don't need your-" Ganondorf began to say, instinctively, then he realized that they did, in fact.

The newcomer laughed. "Don't be ashamed. Those shadows are way too powerful for a group of 21."

"Oh, but 22 will be much better." Falco replied sarcastically.

"No…that's why I've been doing some research, and I found five other warriors that could help us."

"OK, let's go!" DK replied enthusiastically.

"Wait! What should we call you?" Master Hand asked.

"My name is Clyne." He replied.

The smashers introduced themselves to Clyne, then Mewtwo asked matter-of-factly, "Where are we going, then?"

"Can't you read his mind?" Fox taunted.

"No…he has a strange mental block protecting his thoughts."

"So we can't know if he's telling the truth." Bowser snarled suspiciously.

"You'll just have to trust me. Now come on, this first stop will be tough. The fighters don't speak English; only Japanese."

"Leave that to me." Mewtwo replied. "I can use my psychic powers to translate."

"Hey, he might come in handy after all!" Kirby jeered.

"Not really…I could do that." Ness retorted.

"You puny boy, don't dare compare yourself to me!" Mewtwo shouted.

"Boysa, boys." Mario interceded. "Playa nice."

Ness went over to sulk. Mewtwo snorted and turned away. Clyne sighed and opened a portal. 

When they emerged, they found themselves in a somewhat colorful area, without many landmarks. Suddenly, they heard shouts of battle.

"Hwa! Tze! Tzuya! Hya!"

"Heeeeyah!"

"Sounds like quite a battle." Falcon commented.

"Puff!" Jigglypuff agreed.

Walking further, the smashers found the source of the cries: two similar-looking warriors: one with black hair, one with red. Both wore dramatic capes, somewhat like Clyne's, and both were swinging large swords around.

"Marth! Roy!" Clyne shouted.

"Wait…we're getting both of them?" Kirby wondered. "Why are they fighting?"

"They're training, don't worry." Clyne replied. "They are very noble warriors."

"Oh good…we're a bit low on those." Link muttered, staring at Ganondorf.

The two swordsmen said something angrily, turning toward the intruders.

"They said, 'Who are you?'" Ness and Mewtwo translated simultaneously. They glared at each other.

"Ness, you take care of this. Mewtwo, come here." Master Hand suggested firmly. Mewtwo agreed reluctantly.

"Mewtwo, we're a team. We have to work as a team, no matter what you think of the rest of us."

"Well, it's not that I don't like the rest of you, it's just that they're too weak to-"

"Stop right there! Don't use that word again. We are all weak compared to the shadows, so it doesn't matter. If you don't start cooperating, I'll have to ask you to leave."

"What? And miss all the fun?" Mewtwo retorted, dripping with sarcasm.

Master Hand glared. Mewtwo sighed. "All right, fine. Wait, I know! I can…help…Ness teach them English!"

Master Hand was startled. "Good idea!"

Mewtwo and Ness teamed up to psychically transmit their knowledge to Marth and Roy. The smashers waited patiently, murmuring among themselves.

"There. Done." Ness announced.

"Yes, indeed. So what is this war about which you are talking?" Marth asked.

"Well…I'll explain it on the way." Master Hand answered. "Come on, Clyne, where's the next fighter?"

"Oh, I'll-"

Suddenly, the entire area seemed to erupt into laughter. A portal appeared above the smashers, and Crazy Hand appeared, dramatically.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen!" Crazy Hand greeted jovially. "I see you're making new friends, Mario!"

Mario glared. "Whata do youa want?"

"What do you think? I want a fight! I want to fight you all and KILL YOU!" the insane glove answered, his voice cracking on the last syllables. "Where have you been? I've been waiting so long!"

"We're not done finding friends." Master Hand replied calmly.

"OH YES YOU ARE!" came the high-pitched reply.

At that, Crazy Hand rocketed forward and slammed into Mario. Mario flew backward in great pain. 

"Hey! Play fair!" Samus shouted.

"Oh…poor Samus…life not treating you fair? Here…I'll make things fair!"

With that, he slammed himself onto the ground and crawled forward like an insect, sending Samus, Yoshi, and Peach flying out of the way. Then, he got up and started shooting lasers out of his fingertips, blasting the Ice Climbers, Pichu, and Bowser ruthlessly until they could fight no more. 

Marth and Roy immediately joined the battle, swinging their swords around and avoiding Crazy Hand's attacks. The other smashers joined in, but Crazy Hand held firm. 

"You can't defeat MEEE!" he shrieked, flying into the air and slamming down onto DK. Still being pummeled by attacks, he grabbed onto Master Hand and disappeared. As they faded away, Crazy Hand shouted,

"You'd better follow if you want to save your glove!"

"Hmm…they're going back to Master Hand's dimension." Clyne mused.

"Well, come on! Let's go!" Ganondorf shouted.

"Wait a minute! We've lost a third of our army! We need to wait." Clyne shot back. "You can't always go rushing into things, Ganondorf."

"I guess you're right. But how long will we wait? And won't Crazy Hand kill Master Hand?"

"No, I don't think so. He just wants to fight. Besides, Master Hand can take care of himself."

"I guess we're done looking for friends, though." Zelda commented.

"Yeah, that's too bad. Maybe we'll still have time before the shadows attack." Clyne agreed.

"Oh…my head…" Samus moaned, standing up. "What did I miss?"

"Crazy Hand got Master Hand, and we're waiting for the others to wake up so we can save him."

"Oh, boy."

Eventually the smashers woke up, and Clyne filled them in. Finally, they were ready to leave.

Suddenly, Mewtwo and Ness cried out in pain.

"What'sa wrong?" Mario asked nervously.

"Master Hand…he sent…a psychic message…he's leaving his dimension." Mewtwo replied.

"Hmm…" Clyne seemed skeptical. "Crazy Hand wouldn't allow him to send that message on his own. It was Crazy's idea. He's playing a game with us."

"So he wants to play hide and seek?" Bowser growled. "We'll see if he can hide from us!"

(A/N: Yes, it's a somewhat corny ending, but what kind of threats do you expect from a turtle who's been evil for 20 or so years? Anyway, I did manage to fit Marth and Roy in, but none of the other characters will make it this time, as I indicated. Don't worry, though, my 6th fic will have everybody!)


	5. Hide and Seek

Chapter 4: Hide and Seek

The smashers stood in complete silence for a moment, contemplating their next move. With Master Hand out of the picture, the smashers knew they had to rely on their shaky ally to transport them around. No one liked the idea, but they had no choice.

"Well, let's go to Master Hand's dimension first, anyway. Maybe we can figure out where they went." Clyne finally suggested. No one had any better ideas, so the group of 23 appeared seconds later, on a very empty platform.

"Yep, they're gone all right." Fox verified. "Now what?"

"Wait, look at this!" Kirby shouted. Being so close to the ground, Kirby could easily find the small, somewhat camouflaged object that he showed to everyone else.

"What is it?" Ness wondered.

"It's a purple hexagon." Mewtwo replied scornfully. "It seems obvious to me."

"Sure, but what could it mean?" DK wondered.

"Could it have something to do with the fact that a hexagon is a polygon?" Link asked knowingly.

"The polygons! Ofa course!" Luigi shouted. "Comea on, Clyne!"

"The polygons? Oh…I don't think that's…what it means…"

The original 12 smashers stared at Clyne. "Of course it is, Clyne! Come on, let's go!" Falcon replied.

"No…I don't-"

"He's scared." Mewtwo jeered.

"Thought you couldn't read his mind, Mewtwo." Falco taunted. 

"I can tell from here. This man…er…person…is afraid of these polygons."

"A…afraid? M…me?" Clyne stammered.

Pikachu rolled his eyes. "Pika! Pikapi! Kachu pika pi!"

"Yes, they are very easy to defeat." Ness agreed, after translating Pikachu's babbling to English.

"Well…it's just that my parents always used to tell me stories about the polygons to…get me to be good."

Mewtwo burst out laughing. "Oh, that's rich! Do your homework or the polygons will get you! Oh, this is too much!"

"OK, that's it." Clyne growled, and a split-second later, Mewtwo was on the ground. Clyne pulled his staff back to his side nonchalantly.

The smashers gaped in astonishment. No one had even seen the weapon move!

"Thank you." Ganondorf sighed, having recovered his composure first. 

"Unfortunately, his boasts had some validity to them. He's a very powerful psychic and a good fighter." Clyne reported. "We'll have to carry him along."

"Are you _sure_?" Zelda protested. Clyne nodded.

"OK, well, let's go visit the polygons." Popo suggested.

Clyne agreed reluctantly and opened a portal. Link grabbed Mewtwo with his hookshot, and they appeared among a group of polygons.

"We just want to talk-" Ness began, trying to send the message in their language, but it was no use. The polygons attacked. 

The smashers heard familiar, distant, maniacal laughter as the battle began.

Clyne exploded forward, moving his staff so quickly it was almost invisible, knocking out scores of polygons at a time. The smashers were further thunderstruck by Clyne's talents, and almost forgot to fight themselves. A few polygons reminded them, but the battle was over within minutes.

"How could you be afraid of these guys? You cut through them like a knife through butter!" Samus marveled. 

Clyne shrugged. "Misinformation, I guess. Come on, let's see if there's another clue."

"Oh…my head…" Mewtwo moaned.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Clyne grinned sardonically, then his voice turned darkly menacing. "Don't insult me again." Mewtwo groaned and nodded.

"Pichu!" The tiny mouse's shout indicated that he had, in fact, found something.

"That appears to be a small doll with the likeness of an old man in a suit." Marth observed, confused.

"That looks like Giovanni!" Bowser scowled, remembering his onetime ally.

"Chu! Pichu!" Pichu shouted angrily at the doll. "Pichu pi!"

Mewtwo, for once, was dead silent. He stared at the doll as if awakening memories that were blocked out. No one bothered to ask him what was wrong, because they didn't really care.

"So what kind of clue do we get from Giovanni?" Clyne prompted.

"Well, the Pokemon dimension." DK suggested.

"That seems too easy. What about the Battlefield dimension, where you fought us?" Ganondorf replied.

"That's a good idea. Clyne, take us away!" Falcon shouted melodramatically.

Clyne laughed and opened a portal. The smashers soon appeared on the familiar (to some of them) dull landscape.

"What a whole lot of nothing." Popo commented.

"Yeah, really. Good place for a battle." His sister replied.

As if on cue, a portal appeared in front of the smashers. Giga Bowser appeared with a bang – well, more like a thud – as he hit the ground.

"Hello there. Crazy Hand couldn't make it so he sent me instead! He wanted me to tell you to go to where it all began…that is if I don't destroy you!" the mutant roared, setting his stance for battle.

"I beata you bya myself, Giga Bowsera! Whata makes you thinka you have a chancea against all ofa us?" Mario mocked.

"Oh…just the fact that I have help." Giga Bowser replied, and an army of wireframes immediately appeared around him.

"Oh, what fun." Yoshi sighed.

"Finally, another chance to fight!" Roy grinned.

"Roy, wea just foughta 5 minutes agoa!" Mario pointed out incredulously. Roy shrugged and charged forward.

"Leave Giga Bowser to me!" Clyne shouted, as the phalanx of wireframes closed in on the smashers.

(A/N: No, this fic isn't almost over. Crazy Hand is still very much at large. Hmm…what did Giga Bowser mean when he said 'go to where it all began'? Gee…maybe that'll be important…Stay tuned!)


	6. Clash

Chapter 5: Clash

Clyne jumped dramatically over the onslaught of wireframes and charged at Giga Bowser.

"Oh, you think you can take me, stick boy?" Giga Bowser taunted.

"That was lame." Clyne replied, and swung his staff. The mutant was unable to dodge, being so slow, but barely reacted to the blow. Giga Bowser roared triumphantly.

"Is that it? Here, my turn!"

Giga Bowser roared and headbutted Clyne. Clyne screamed and flew away, but kicked off of a wireframe's back and dove back into battle, sending his staff into Giga Bowser's chest. He grunted, then grinned.

"This could be interesting after all! Take this!"

A stream of fire burst from the turtle lizard's (A/N: I know people say he's a turtle, but turtles don't walk upright or breathe fire. He's some kind of hybrid…a tizard maybe? Or lurtle?) mouth, scorching Clyne while keeping him at a fair distance.

Marth and Roy hacked mercilessly at the wireframes, swinging their swords startlingly fast. Their swordbearing counterpart, Link, was also doing well, and Zelda had transformed into Shiek and was swinging her whip to keep the wireframes at bay. Captain Falcon and Ganondorf, having similar moves, both enjoyed using their charged-up punches to send opponents away aflame. Peach was doing well also, taking out multiple wireframes with her tennis rackets, golf clubs, and frying pans.

"Look out, Mario!" Samus suddenly shouted. Mario ducked just as a huge object flew over his head.

"Whata was that?" Mario gasped. A burst of fanatical laughter soon answered the question.

"Having fun with my friends? I'm sure having fun with yours! Maybe if you win this battle, you'll figure out Giga Bowser's clue, and come get him!"

Crazy Hand then disappeared.

"That wasa odd." Mario remarked, and turned around to fight. He was immediately shocked.

"Oh, no!" Samus shouted.

The wireframes had taken advantage of the distraction by silently KOing half of the army. Now, only Mario, Samus, Marth, Roy, Pikachu, Mewtwo, Link, Luigi, the Ice Climbers, Peach, and Falco remained in the fray.

Even as the remaining heroes surveyed the situation, a new group of wireframes appeared.

"Hmm…this could be problematic." Samus mused.

"Not at all! It is just getting interesting!" Marth shot back, swinging his sword spectacularly. Samus rolled her eyes undetectably. 

Clyne groaned after being hit dead on by Giga Bowser's powerful slam. He struggled to his feet and assumed his fighting stance.

"You're still fighting, boy? Why can't you learn that you can't beat me?"

Giga Bowser laughed and jumped at Clyne. Clyne saw his chance immediately, and jumped backward. Giga Bowser landed badly, and took a moment to get up – a moment too long, when fighting Clyne. Clyne erupted forward, swinging his staff wildly and not allowing any recovery. Before Giga Bowser could even begin to try to get up, Clyne had delivered ten blows. As Giga Bowser stood up, Clyne channeled his remaining strength to his arms, waiting for just the right moment. Just before Giga Bowser stood erect, Clyne unleashed the full potential of his might on the unfortunate mutant, sending him flying. Giga Bowser roared in shock.

"You got lucky this time, boy. Just wait until next time!"

Clyne gasped for breath. Having used his last vestiges of energy, he sat immobile for several seconds waiting to recover. Just then, he turned around, and saw that the other smashers were in trouble. He sighed. _Guess I'd better help them_, he thought.

Falco did a powerful roundhouse kick just in time to prevent a wireframe from hitting him. _What am I even doing here?_ He thought. _Fox is the fighter in the group, not me! I should be out with Slippy and Peppy shooting stuff!_ A wireframe struck him on the back of the head.

"Falco, watch your back!" Link warned politely. Falco grunted and nodded.

"Foolish humans. These wireframes are all too weak." Mewtwo belittled.

"OK then. We'll back off, and you take care of them." Popo sighed, sick of Mewtwo's arrogance.

"Maybe I will." Mewtwo replied, charging up his Shadow Ball. Just after he fired it, a wireframe jumped up right in front of Mewtwo and began a full assault. Mewtwo ducked instinctively to avoid a blow to the head, and the wireframe collapsed. Clyne ran up and caught his staff.

"You helped me." Mewtwo noticed, a little dazed.

"We're all helping each other, Mewtwo. Remember? Team?" Clyne replied softly, and began attacking.

Mewtwo paused to think about it. 

"I thinka you finallya gota through toa him, Clyne!" Mario whispered triumphantly.

"Yeah, seems that way." Clyne murmured back.

Pikachu shouted out his catch phrase/battle cry/taunt as he summoned a jolt of thunder to disperse his opponents. As more and more wireframes appeared, Pikachu put his electric reserves to the test, trying to keep up with the assault.

Luigi rocketed forward like a missile, sending a few wireframes flying. He did his Super Jump Punch straight up into the air to send another group ablaze into the distance. 

"This isn'ta so hard." He taunted, knifehanding another two away.

Marth agreed. "I was expecting a more challenging battle." He sighed, swinging his sword four times in rapid succession, changing color each time. Then, he leapt into the air and sent a group of frames flying. Roy laughed and said something to Marth in Japanese. Marth snickered.

Mario frowned, but Clyne shook his head. "They're new, Mario. Give them time."

Link was also doing well, with such a dramatically stronger spinning slash move. However, there were just too many wireframes, until suddenly they stopped coming.

"Huh?" Peach stopped her attack mid-swing. "What's going on?"

"I guess Crazy Hand decided we're worthy to go to the next level." Mewtwo replied dryly. "What was Giga Bowser's clue?"

"Go to where it all began…" Samus remembered. "That's pretty ambiguous."

"Well, ita could havea begun ona Master Hand'sa platform…that'sa where we meta for the firsta tournament." Mario suggested.

"Or it could have begun in the shadow dimension." Falco sighed. "Let's hope we find a better answer, though."

The smashers nodded with fervent agreement.

"Anyway, shouldn't we wait for the others to get up?" Popo suggested.

"Good point." Clyne replied. "I'm sure Crazy Hand won't mind waiting."

The smashers laughed and began to ponder the meaning of the clue.

Meanwhile, on Eclipsia, another sort of pondering was taking place.

"Giga Bowser, hmm? Intriguing…maybe this mutant can be put to good use!" Anomaly said to himself.

"Um…sire? Crazy Hand is already controlling Giga Bowser. How can we-"

"Don't tell me what I can and cannot do!" Anomaly roared, and reached out with his huge arm. The questioning shadow was instantly absorbed into Anomaly's body, and the screams disappeared immediately. "Don't disturb me while I'm thinking." Anomaly warned to the other shadows in the proximity, and turned back to watch the video of his enemies that his spies had provided. 

"Yes…" Anomaly grinned confidently. "Giga Bowser and Crazy Hand will fit nicely into my plans."

(A/N: Uh oh. Now two groups are gunning for the deadly duo (or something equally as witty). What could become of this? And more importantly…what does Giga Bowser's clue mean? Where should the smashers go next?)


	7. Ending Search

Chapter 6: Ending Search

It took a while, but the other smashers eventually woke up. They began to think about Giga Bowser's ambiguous clue.

"Well…it could have begun in the toy dimension." Ness suggested.

"Why?" DK questioned, confused.

"Why not?" Ness replied, and shrugged. Mewtwo sighed.

"This is foolish! Let's just pick somewhere and go!"

"All right, Mewtwo, all right. Let's hear your idea." Samus sighed.

Mewtwo paused to reflect, taking ideas from the others' minds as necessary. After a while he said, "What about Final Destination? Apparently that's where you all met for the tournament?"

Mario stared. "Fine. Let'sa go."

Clyne shrugged. "Worth a shot."

He opened a portal, and the fighters emerged once again onto the familiar platform.

"He's not here." Falcon observed glumly.

"But look who is!" Peach pointed to a cage at the edge of the platform.

"That'sa…Toad!" Luigi recognized.

"Don't youa have Toada witha you?" Mario wondered.

"Yeah, I thought so." Peach mused, pulling Toad out of nowhere.

"Yep, here I am. Hi, everyone." Toad said cheerfully, and disappeared.

"Then who…" Marth began.

Link interrupted, "Hey, it's someone in a cage. Let's let him out and figure stuff out later."

"Leavea that toa me." Mario volunteered, jumping forward and swinging his fist in a powerful midair punch. The bars shattered easily…too easily.

The Toad landed and started moving his mouth noiselessly. Somehow, words appeared over his head. As Mario and Luigi read them, they became infuriated.

It read:

"Thank you Mario! But Crazy Hand is in another castle!"

The false Toad emitted a shrill laugh not unlike Crazy Hand's, and started to change color. Soon, it looked black and red instead of white and red.

Mario, Luigi, and Bowser stared in confusion. Everyone else stared in even greater confusion.

Suddenly, Clyne shouted, "Get BACK!"

The smashers jumped back instinctively. Suddenly, the false Toad exploded dramatically.

"Nice try Mewtwo…but it seems you're wrong." Falco commented amidst the explosion. Mewtwo scowled.

Clyne opened a portal instinctively and pulled everyone in.

"Where are we going Clyne?" Ganondorf questioned.

"Hmm…I'm not sure." Clyne realized. "My subconscious took over."

"Pika." Pikachu sighed.

They emerged onto a completely unfamiliar area. It looked quite a bit like most of their regular homes, except that huge needle-like structures and flying vehicles punctured the sky. Clyne laughed as soon as he looked around.

"What's so funny Clyne?" Popo wondered.

"No wonder my subconscious took me here! This is my home!"

"Wha-?" the smashers emitted a collective gasp.

"Hey, what's that?" Yoshi pointed off in the distance.

"It looks like…" Falcon began, squinting. "A hand."

"Hand?" Mewtwo exclaimed. "You mean this dimension is where it all began?"

"Hmm." Clyne mused. "I guess Master Hand began here, in a sense."

"Yeah, whatever. Time for battle, Crazy Hand!" Marth yelled eagerly.

Crazy Hand turned and rocketed forward. "I didn't expect you so soon. You must be smarter than you look!"

Mario scowled. "Geta on witha it. Whata do youa want?"

"Well…technically, you figured it out, so I guess it's time to fight." Crazy Hand replied.

"Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff shouted angrily.

"Yeah, bring it on!" Ness translated.

The smashers prepared for battle, but Crazy Hand shook his…um…head.

"No, not here. We can't fight here."

"Then why did you TAKE us here?" Fox sighed.

"It's a cool place to be. Besides, I couldn't lead you right to Master Hand!"

"So…now…" Ganondorf prompted.

"Oh. Now I'm going to lead you to Master Hand."

Bowser roared in anger. "What do you think we are, idiots? Get on with it so we can fight!"

"I was just getting to that, my dear turtle. If you'll all follow me into this portal…"

Crazy Hand opened a portal and jumped in. The smashers followed warily.

A second later, the smashers found themselves on the old Battlefield again, where the original 12 had fought Bowser, Ganondorf, Giovanni, and Andross.

"Can't you be a little more original?" Link wondered.

"Chu!" Pikachu agreed.

"Hey! I came up with all those clues, didn't I! I'm very original!"

Yoshi sighed heavily. "Let's just fight!"

"Yes, of course." Crazy Hand sighed. "You people are so touchy…"

With that, a phalanx of wireframes appeared, and Giga Bowser came into existence behind them.

"Nota you again!" Mario sighed. "Haven't wea beaten youa enough?"

Giga Bowser roared. "Come on, Mario! I'll show you who'll beat who!"

Mario rolled his eyes. "You'rea terrible ata comebacks."

"Bring Clyne, too! I'll take you both!" Giga Bowser taunted, ignoring Mario's comment.

Clyne shrugged and accompanied Mario over the wireframes, to Giga Bowser.

"No cheap tricks this time, Crazy Hand!" Samus warned.

"No, of course not, my dear." The insane glove replied, promptly firing a rocket at her. Samus quickly rolled out of the way.

The wireframes charged. Luigi, Marth, Roy, Kirby, Zelda, Peach, Ness, Bowser, Pichu, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, DK, Yoshi, Falcon, and Falco chose the wireframes as their targets.

Luigi fired himself at a group, knocking them over. Peach dispersed another group with her hip attack. Zelda used Din's Fire to eliminate a few more. Kirby's Final Cutter reduced the number further.

Meanwhile, Samus, Link, Fox, Pikachu, the Ice Climbers, and Ganondorf attacked Crazy Hand. Crazy began by dropping bombs on the smashers, which kept a few at bay, while Pikachu snuck up from behind and shocked Crazy Hand with electricity. Ganondorf jumped and did a flip kick to increase Crazy Hand's damage. Nano threw Popo into the air to hurt Crazy Hand a bit more, then shot an ice block.

Crazy Hand roared in pain and swung his hand…um…himself wildly, and managed to connect with a few of the fighters.

Meanwhile, Giga Bowser found himself somewhat overwhelmed by the combined abilities of Mario and Clyne. While Clyne distracted the gargantuan, Mario snuck up from behind to smash or use his cape, to allow Clyne to attack.

Giga Bowser was weakening dramatically, and so was Crazy Hand. The reserves of wireframes were almost gone, and it looked to be an easy win for the smashers. Crazy Hand was getting desperate, and, giving up all hope, he started to spasm violently on the floor, knocking away anyone in his path. There were too many smashers, though, and this ploy soon failed. Crazy Hand wailed, sensing defeat, and prepared to order a last stand.

Samus prepared to end part of the battle by firing her energy ball secretly at Giga Bowser. Suddenly, though, Giga Bowser became ebony in color and faded away. Crazy Hand started to do the same, but Samus's attack hit him and he collapsed unconscious instead. Marth destroyed the last wireframe, then looked around, confused.

"What just happened?" he asked.

"Hmm…black…evil…looks like the work of the shadows." Samus mused gravely.

"Yeah." Mario replied. "Gooda shot, though." Samus chuckled.

"I guess that battle's taken care of. What next?" Falcon wondered.

"What do you think?" Clyne shot back. "The war."

(A/N: No, this fic is not over yet. Did anyone notice that they didn't actually find Master Hand? Well, they haven't, so wait for one more chapter. I know, I know, this fic is getting long. But you wouldn't want the smashers to leave poor Master Hand alone on the Battlefield, would you?)


	8. The End of the Beginning

Chapter 7: The End of the Beginning

"I keep getting the feeling we're forgetting something." Falcon muttered, puzzled.

"Yeah, it does seem like that." Kirby agreed, looking around. "Oh well. Take us away, Clyne."

Clyne paused. "No, we really are forgetting something. I don't feel right leaving."

"I got it!" Yoshi shouted exuberantly. 

"Oh good! What is it?" DK asked, encouraging his former English student to talk.

Yoshi paused, trying to translate in his head from "Yosh-ese" to English. "We need to find Master Hand."

The smashers laughed at their stupidity. "You're right, Yoshi." Peach giggled. "Good remembering!" Yoshi beamed.

"Well, Ness or Mewtwo, any ideas?" Fox prompted. "Lead the way."

Ness closed his eyes in concentration, and Mewtwo did the same. "This way." Ness suggested, just as Mewtwo replied "That way."

They stared at each other angrily. "How could you know where he is? You don't even know him!" Ness challenged.

Mewtwo scowled. "I could get to know him telepathically _and_ find him before you were born, boy."

"Please, children." Clyne sighed. "This dimension isn't very big. We'll split up."

The group divided quickly in half and they set out in opposite directions, searching for an imprisoned glove.

"Are we there yet?" Ness whined after a few minutes. "My feet hurt."

"Pichu!" Pichu agreed.

DK sighed. "I'll carry you." He said, and he picked them both up. 

Kirby sighed. "I wish there were a Warp Star around here somewhere."

"I wish there were a teleporting tube." Samus put in.

"Ora a Warpa Pipe." Added Luigi.

"Or-" Fox stopped in surprise, seeing both the other group and Master Hand at the same time.

"You were both right." Falcon noticed. "Master Hand was on the exact opposite side of the planet."

Mewtwo and Ness glowered at each other. "Lucky guess," they both muttered.

Clyne sighed and ran forward. With a mighty swing, he destroyed the security box that emitted the lasers making up Master Hand's cell. The lasers disappeared, and Master Hand groaned.

"Who's th-"

"It's me. You're safe now." Clyne answered soothingly.

"Not hardly." Master Hand replied, seeming to be much more awake now. "The shadows are still out there. We need to go to the toy dimension right away."

"Can'ta we get somea newa recruits firsta?" Mario suggested, remembering Clyne's ideas from before.

"Yes, you do that. I'll go to the toy dimension and introduce them to the problem and you can meet me there."

"Sounds good." Clyne answered, and Master Hand disappeared.

"Well," Mario sighed, "Ia guess there'sa nothing to looka forward to now buta war."

Meanwhile, in a dimension very close to the toy dimension…

"Sire, we have Giga Bowser, but Crazy Hand was defeated too quickly to get him."

"Thank you, that should be fine." Anomaly replied with an evil grin. "Everything is ready now."

"So we will attack now, sire?" an eager shadow asked.

"No."

"What? Why?"

"Do you dare to challenge my authority? Those fools are expecting an attack soon, so the longer we wait, the further down their guard will be."

Another foolish shadow decided to ask another question. "Why are we attacking the toy dimension first? Won't it be the hardest-"

"Fool! Of course not! Do you know how many dimensions there are?" Anomaly interrupted. "Anyway, better to lose many early than to lose many over a long time of dimension conquering and then lose many more."

"What?" the confused shadow asked.

"When we attack other places, we will lose a few people. If we do that a lot, we may not be strong enough to conquer the toy dimension," Anomaly explained impatiently, "you imbecile."

At a wave of Anomaly's hand, the shadows gathered together. The entire army, including Giga Bowser stood, waiting for their emporer's order.

"We attack," Anomaly announced with an ominous chuckle, "in one week."

The fanatic cheering of the army was drowned out by Anomaly's evil laughter.

The End


End file.
